Berlin Turns Into Olympic-bid Long Shot

September 15, 1993|By Thom Shanker.

BERLIN — The Olympic quest by the new capital of the new Germany is like a runner who explodes out of the blocks, confident of an early lead-only to stumble face-first onto the track, his shoelaces tied together by his own teammates, coach and trainer.

But in a surprising comeback, the runner has caught up with the championship pace just yards from the finish line, and the question now is, can Berlin win in a photo-finish with Sydney and Beijing?

"Berlin was a symbol of the division of Europe for so many years," said German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. "As a result, there can hardly be a city better suited to breathe life into the Olympic spirit of peaceful competition and international understanding."

That sentiment rang true, for a time. Who can forget the stirring images when the Wall came tumbling down? Thousands of Germans-East Germans, West Germans, now all new Germans-gathered for a bash at the Brandenburg Gate to celebrate the triumph of the human spirit.

Not bad symbols for a city hoping to host the summer Olympics at the gateway of the next millenium, thought Berlin's burgermeisters and business leaders.

A party is planned at the same site on Sept. 23, with giant TV sets to broadcast the result of a vote by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Monte Carlo. Most are betting that this second-ever nationwide party beneath the Brandenburg Gate will be a wake.

To many foreigners-and that includes the IOC-the symbols of reunified Germany have become the Molotov cocktail and the jackboot as neo-Nazis, skinheads and assorted fascists committed more than 3,000 violent hate crimes over the last 20 months-including 21 murders.

The city's political and financial elite, who yearn for the revenues and prestige of an Olympics in Berlin, have wisely shifted their campaign from unfulfilled promises of reunification to stressing more traditional German strengths.

Wolfgang Haendel, managing director of the Berlin 2000 Olympia Marketing Corp., said the city's relative advantage against other contenders focuses on the sale of prime-time television rights.

"Looking not only at the European market, but, of course, at the U.S. as well, and even the Far East, we are likely to take in $200 million to $300 million more than either Sydney or Beijing," he said.

Berlin's proposal also includes an unusual fundraising idea, the minting of commemorative coins, from which another $500 million could be expected to fill the treasury of the Olympic Committee, he said.

Corporate sponsors held a dry run for the Olympics last month when the world track and field championships, in Stuttgart, was a flawless showcase for "perfect German organizational skills"-and pleasant German hospitality, said Berlin Mayor Eberhard Diepgen.

Stuttgart also illustrated the extent that corporate sponsors will show off their largesse. A special grandstand erected for 50 visiting members of the IOC had as its perimeter fence 90 new Porsche sports cars lined up side-by-side.

Berlin's bid needs all the help it can get.

The campaign got off to a bad start, with the firing two years ago of two senior officials from Berlin's Olympic oversight committee and its marketing arm.

The sackings resulted from charges of conflict of interest and malfeasance. The most astonishing allegation was that the Berlin 2000 committee compiled portfolios on the sexual appetites of voting members of the IOC for use in furthering the city's campaign for the games.

Most damaging, though, has been the loud and vulgar opposition from the street, where activists have adopted a strategy of "winnin' ugly" to run the games out of town, fearing a horrific tax burden from the Olympics will be added to the already high costs of reunification.

A crude video threatening violence against any Berlin Olympics was sent to all 91 voting members of the IOC, a product of the city's raucous left-wing political subculture.

In the 11-minute "NOlympic" video are scenes of neo-Nazis marching through Germany and local skinhead types toppling Polizei cars. Also included was vintage footage of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, hosted by Adolf Hitler in a misguided effort to showcase Aryan superiority. That same stadium would be the centerpiece of the 2000 Games, if held here.

The most controversial scene in the film, however, is the closing shot of a youth wearing a black mask and wielding in one hand a chunk of stone or wood while making an obscene gesture with the other hand.

"We will wait for you," a voice warns over the soundtrack.

Gerd Poppe, a federal senator of the left-wing Bundis 90/Greens Party from Berlin, said the city is a poor choice for the Olympics because of the "enormous costs, the lack of infrastructure and the work to be done in building roads and homes."

That sentiment is fairly common among city residents. Above the stage in one of eastern Berlin's most popular cabarets, the Chamaeleon Variete, is a large banner that recommends: "Sydney 2000."